Peak Luxury Imperial Stout
Modern Times Beer

Bomber at share. Mahogany pour, some bubbles. Chocolate aroma and a helping of roast. Taste is sweet, chocolaty, light vanilla, roasty, latent warmth.

22 oz bomber into a snifter.

I intentionally imbibed this brew before reading the list of adjuncts, and my quick takeaway was ‘marshmallow bomb!’ Then I read its description and was able to parse its ingredients, but they do an amazing job of bringing all the disparate flavors into a single note - very chef-y.

Its nose carries a punchy bouquet, vanilla bean and booze. Follows through on the palate, with additional notes of malty chocolate, anise, caramel.

MT has really smoothed out any hint of ‘beer bitterness’, making a perfectly decadent pastry stout that would satisfy any foodie or sweet tooth that wouldn’t normally go for ‘beer’. I know there are other breweries specializing in this, but the evolution and range of modern time’s barrel-aging is pretty remarkable.

 

fobab 2021.

This one pours a very dark black color, with a small head, and a little bit of lacing.

This smells ridiculously decadent (and luxurious, obviously) with creamy candied coconut, sweet and fruity coffee, caramel, lots of vanilla, milk chocolate, and bourbon.

I wish there was maybe a little bit more barrel here, but the adjuncts are done quite, quite well here, with a superb creaminess, with a dark and complex, but sweet coffee character – caramelly, fruity, and lightly spicy. There’s a ton of vanilla, as expected with the fact there’s two kinds of beans, and the almonds and coconut are also vanilla-infused. The almond with the coffee is a killer combo, just that nuttiness along with the rich coffee character. There’s a touch of oak and bourbon, but the added flavorings definitely lead the proceedings.

This is thick, creamy, and lightly carbonated, with no real booziness at all.

Modern Times really knows how to knock this style right into the cheap seats.

Dark black body, small brown head. Insane almonds and vanilla seeds on nose. Amaretto and bits of fortified wine. Taste is sweet, sugary vanilla, amaretto, earthy dark chocolate and coffee. Full bodied, low carbonation. Lots of vanilla and white sugar all the way on the finish. Sweet is the name of the game here.

 

8 ball black with a short but uniform dark tan foam head.

The nose exhibits intense almond paste with a little barrel char, seeming like it will be quite sticky on the lips, but taste actually translates to toasty Nutter Butters, oddly enough.

While somewhat viscous, it's an interesting flavor despite the overwhelming sweetness. However, it's a bit of a shame considering how much shit they put in this beer for it all to come together as something they don't seem to have intended, but at least the old lady loved it.